Elena was making her way to that morning's Grand Council meeting, yawning quietly. The festivities had come and gone and the New Year was upon them. The princess would have preferred to spend another hour in bed but Esteban had approached everyone the day before and requested to have the meeting first thing the next day. Elena had granted his wish only because she knew he would have pestered her until she gave in if she had said no: the chancellor had made it perfectly clear that whatever he wished to discuss was of the highest importance. The princess assumed that this meeting was going to be about whatever Esteban had been doing for the last few weeks: he had been locking himself up in the library and going in and out of the palace and would not tell anyone of what he was doing. Maybe now the mystery will finally be revealed.
The princess reached the Grand Council hall and she stepped inside, finding that everyone else was already there. Naomi and her grandparents smiled at her while Esteban simply acknowledged her with a nod. Elena smiled at everyone and took her seat.
"Good, everyone's here. We can begin," she said. She turned to Esteban. "You're the reason we're here, cousin, so why don't you tell us why you've requested a meeting?"
"Thank you, Elena," Esteban replied. He stood on his feet, made his way around the table, and placed himself in front of them.
"As you all know, the princess's eighteenth birthday is fast approaching –" he began, but he was soon interrupted by his grandparents.
"Her eighteenth birthday is not until next year, Esteban," Francisco said.
"It's a bit early to plan anything for that, don't you think?" Luisa added.
Elena was eyeing Esteban suspiciously. Her cousin had something up his sleeve and she had a strong feeling that she was not going to like whatever it was.
"I'm aware of that, thank you," Esteban said irritably. "But you know what must happen when she becomes eighteen: she must not only become queen, but she must also marry."
A stunned silence followed his words. Elena's eyes widened and she threw a panicked look Naomi's way. Her friend glanced at her and the princess knew they were both thinking the same thing: Esteban was aware of something.
"We know she needs to marry," Francisco said slowly. "But you can't honestly think that we should start looking at suitors now?"
"We don't have to, for I have already found one for her," Esteban said. "This match would be a great advantage to our kingdom."
"W-Wait a minute!" Elena exclaimed. "You've already promised me to someone? Don't I get a say in this?"
"Elena's right, Esteban. This is her life we're talking about," Luisa said. Elena gave her grandmother a grateful look.
"Forgive me for saying this, but Elena still has a long way to go before she is capable of making the right decisions in the name of the kingdom. She does not have the type of judgement that comes with years of experience," Esteban replied placidly. "So I have chosen a suitor who would bring us many benefits."
"And who is this suitor, Esteban? If your grandmother and I do not agree with your choice, the marriage will not take place," Francisco warned.
"But what if I don't agree?" Elena wanted to know, but she was waved down by Francisco.
"Who is her suitor?" Francisco repeated, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
"Prince Alonso of Cordoba," Esteban replied smugly.
Elena stood up so fast that she made her chair topple over. "What?" she cried in disbelief. "Why him out of all people?"
"A marriage between you and Prince Alonso would strengthen the ties between our kingdoms," Esteban explained, arching an eyebrow.
"But we've already built a bridge between Cordoba and Avalor for that purpose! Prince Alonso is the laziest and most arrogant person I have ever met; a marriage between us would never work!"
"This union is for the sake of the kingdom, Elena. Surely you understand that?"
"I know that I must do what's best for the kingdom but marriage is a life-long commitment. Why can't I marry someone I'm in love with? Mami and Papi were in love with each other and abuelo and abuela are also in love. Why can't I have that?"
"Because you do not yet have the required insight to make such decisions. You don't want to do anything that would compromise the throne, do you?"
Esteban's last words caused the blood to drain from Elena's face. Her knees buckled and she fell back onto her chair, which Francisco had thankfully put back up. It was confirmed in the princess's mind: Esteban knew about her relationship with Mateo. They had given themselves on Christmas Day. Why else would he have made such a remark and suddenly promised her hand in marriage to a prince? He was taking action and making sure that there was no possible chance of a royal wizard coming near the throne.
"Are you all right, mija?" Luisa asked worriedly. "You look quite pale."
"She's fine: this is a lot to take in, after all," Esteban said, giving Elena a satisfied smirk.
"This is a bit much, Esteban. Elena doesn't need to have a suitor now."
"But I have already spoken to King Juan Ramón about the arrangement and he agrees that it would be a wonderful idea."
"You've spoken to him before talking to us? You had no right to do that, Esteban."
"You cannot tell me that you do not believe that this would be an advantageous marriage, abuela?"
"I never said it wouldn't be –"
"Then what is the problem?"
Luisa glared at Esteban before looking at her husband. Francisco shrugged helplessly.
"While his method was wrong, his reasoning is correct," he said. "Such a union between Cordoba and Avalor would be splendid."
"So you agree with him?" Luisa asked.
"I don't like how Esteban went about this either, Luisa, but I know that you also agree that a marriage between Elena and Prince Alonso would benefit Avalor. Our marriage was an advantageous one as well, remember?"
"Yes, but we, at least, fell in love. Elena doesn't even like Prince Alonso."
"She has only met him once. Maybe she would change her mind if she got to know him."
Luisa appeared to consider that point. Elena watched her nervously, hoping that she would not change her mind. Those hopes were soon dashed when her grandmother looked at her and said, "Your abuelo has a point, mija."
"So now you're saying that I should marry Alonso?" Elena said despairingly.
"I'm saying that maybe you should give the prince another chance before rejecting him," Luisa said.
"She doesn't have much of a choice in the matter, considering everything is settled with King Juan Ramón," Esteban said.
"So she is engaged to Prince Alonso?" Francisco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, she is. All we need to do now is host a ball during which we will make the official announcement and formally introduce Prince Alonso to our kingdom."
"This is ridiculous!" Naomi suddenly exclaimed, causing Elena to jump. She had forgotten her friend was there. "You can't just force her to marry someone like that!"
"Actually, Miss Turner, we can," Esteban said coolly. "You may go to the royal library and look it up if you do not believe me."
"Then let's vote on it. If you think Elena should marry this Prince Alonso, raise your hand."
Esteban immediately raised his hand and Francisco considered for a moment before imitating him. Luisa hesitated before slowly doing the same.
"Abuela!" Elena cried, feeling hurt and betrayed by her grandmother's choice.
"I'm so sorry, mija," Luisa said sadly. "But you've already been promised and breaking that promise would bring terrible consequences."
Elena could not believe this was happening: her own family was forcing her to marry someone she did not like and could have no chance of loving. It took her a moment to compose herself and to keep her voice from trembling as she spoke.
"M-Meeting adjourned," Elena said.
She got up and left the room before anyone could say anything. She forced herself not to run and kept walking until she reached her bedroom, where she threw herself onto her bed and began to sob. What was she going to do? She was now trapped in a marriage contract she did not want but if she tried to break it, she would sever the ties between Avalor and Cordoba and bring awful consequences upon her kingdom. The situation looked hopeless in the princess's eyes.
Elena heard the door open but she did not raise her head. She felt two people sit next to her and a gentle hand touched her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Elena," Naomi said.
"Naomi just told me what happened at the meeting," Isabel said. "They can't do this to you. They just can't!"
"Apparently, they can and just did," Elena said tearfully, looking at the other girls.
"It's still wrong," Naomi stated. "You have to fight against this, Elena."
"How? The Grand Council overruled me. What am I going to tell Mateo?"
"You'll have to tell him the truth. He'll find out whether you tell him or not but it would be best if he heard it from you first."
"I'm afraid Naomi's right, Elena."
"I know, Isa, but I can't stand the idea of causing Mateo such pain: the news will break his heart."
Isabel stroked Elena's hair. "Like how it's breaking yours right now?" she asked softly.
Elena nodded and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She buried her face in her arms and tried to muffle the sounds of her sobs. The princess heard both Naomi and Isabel whisper words of comfort to her and while she appreciated their efforts, they had no effect on her. Elena sat up after a while and wiped her eyes before looking at the other girls, who were gazing at her worriedly.
"I appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up, but I'm afraid nothing is helping," Elena said miserably. "I just need to be alone right now."
"We understand. If there's anything we can do for you, just let us know, okay?" Naomi said kindly.
The princess gave a nod and Naomi and Isabel each gave her a hug before leaving the room. Elena watched them go before getting up and slowly making her way towards her window. She gazed towards the kingdom, dreading her next meeting with Mateo for the first time since she had met him. How was she going to tell him about her engagement to Alonso? There was no way of making the news less painful for him. More tears filled Elena's eyes and she wiped them away. She was going to have to grit her teeth and do this, no matter how much she did not want to. Naomi was right: the royal wizard had to hear the news from her before anyone else. The princess only hoped that Mateo would understand that she was powerless in reversing the decision of the Grand Council.